A thermoplastic resin has a lower specific gravity than glass or metal and has excellent moldability and mechanical properties such as impact resistance. Plastic products made using a thermoplastic resin such a polycarbonate resin are rapidly replacing glass and metal products in the fields of electrical/electronic products and automotive parts.
Recently, as the importance of design becomes more prominent, there is increasing demand for plastic materials that can express various textures. For example, there is a growing demand for plastic exterior products that can create metal textures to give a more luxurious feel. In order to realize a metal texture on a plastic exterior product, there has been proposed a method of producing a molded article using a plastic resin and then coating the molded article with metal or metal paint.
However, such a metal-coated molded article has a problem in that a complicated coating process is required, harmful solvents are used, and manufacturing costs are high. In addition, the use of a painted plastic exterior material can cause significant deterioration in appearance quality due to scratches on a painted portion even by slight impact.
In order to solve such problems, there has been proposed a resin composition capable of expressing an appearance having a metal texture by adding metal particles to the resin without coating. For example, a resin composition using scaly fine metal particles and a resin composition using glass fibers and metal particles have been developed. However, these compositions have drawbacks in that flow marks or weld lines are generated during injection molding, causing deterioration in appearance characteristics.
In addition, with increasing demand for aesthetically pleasing products, there is growing demand for low-gloss resins for presentation of an emotional atmosphere and anti-glare. Further, with increasing awareness of environmental issues, low-gloss resins prepared without matte coatings or padding processes are increasingly used.
A method of imparting low-gloss properties to a resin composition by adding a specific rubber component to the resin composition has been proposed. However, such a method has a problem in that sufficient low-gloss effects cannot be obtained and other physical properties such as impact strength and heat resistance are likely to be deteriorated.
Therefore, there is a need for a resin composition which can express a low-gloss metal texture without causing appearance defects such as flow marks or weld lines.